A split vote by the Village Board resulted in Elburn’s decision not to hire an economic development coordinator during this fiscal year.

Trustees John Bolger, Matt Wilson and Chris Hansen voted no, Addam Gonzales and Megan Mussano voted yes, and Luis Santoyo voted “present.”

Several years ago, the Village Board allocated money in the budget for an economic development position. Although the position was posted, no one applied for it.

Another option the village explored was to make Elburn’s position part time and share the role with the village of Sugar Grove, but that never materialized.

During the budget planning for this fiscal year, the Board chose to shift the funding to fill a need in another area of the budget.

A few months ago, an individual with a background in sales and business development approached the village to suggest he take on the development role on a part-time basis. He said he owned his own business, which offered him the time and flexibility to take on the part-time responsibility.

The village officials who spoke to him were impressed with him and his capabilities. He had also created a framework for the position, including expectations and outcomes he could be evaluated against.

Although the funding was not in this year’s budget, the Village Board discussed the pros and cons of moving forward with hiring him during this fiscal year. They evaluated several financial scenarios. The one with the most hours per week, 19, came out to approximately $40,000 on an annual basis, or about $20,000 for the remainder of this fiscal year. Although the village would not be paying health care or other benefits, the salary would include social security, Medicare and unemployment contributions, for an additional $1,700.

Gonzales and Mussano wanted to go ahead and hire him now. One of their concerns was that he might not be available by May, the beginning of the next fiscal year. Mussano emphasized that she felt this was an investment they shouldn’t pass up, as it could pay off in the form of new businesses moving to Elburn.

Wilson, Bolger and Hansen indicated they felt strongly that it would not be fiscally responsible to spend money set aside in the village’s reserves, in case another unforeseen expense came up. If the decision was made to go forward with the hire and revise the general administrative budget accordingly, it would leave a surplus of only $40,000.

“It’s a matter of needs versus wants,” Trustee Chris Hansen said. “It’s a good job and a good person, but I don’t think we should pull money out of somewhere else.”

Hansen said that with the next fiscal year, he would be 100% in a favor of it.

In the end, the vote dictated that the village hold off on the hire.

“I understand the Board’s position,” Village President Jeff Walter said. “I’m a little disappointed, because I thought we were ready to go, and I know this is something the board wanted, but I understand the financial concerns and we’ve got to wait until the new budget year. We’ll have it re-budgeted and bring everybody back in here” for another vote.

The candidate, Danny Souri, attended both of the last two meetings. During the last discussion at the Nov. 17 Committee of the Whole meeting, he briefly discussed his vision for the position.

“He understands we’re not going to be able to do this until May, and that’s not stopping him from moving on it,” Walter said. “He had already started working with several businesses, and he wants to keep moving forward with it.”

After the vote, Souri said he was definitely still interested in the position.

“I’m not going to sit back and wait until May,” Souri said, adding that with the businesses he’s been involved with over the years, he has developed an extensive network. He said that puts him in a good position to work with business owners who might be interested in locating in Elburn. He added that he has already been working with two businesses interested in coming to town.

“Elburn is a jewel that hasn’t been discovered yet,” Souri said. “Elburn has so many resources.”

He said he has observed that neighbors take care of each other, and everyone he’s met has been friendly and open. He said that as the village continues to grow in population, he would like to make it a “hub,” where he would work to generate interest before businesses move on to the municipalities to the west.

“You have to look toward the future,” he said.